Just as containerloads of overstock clothing and donated garments are making their way to Haiti to aid the victims of the earthquake there, British people are also benefitting from free clothes, but they aren’t exactly donations.

Trading standards officers in East Yorkshire have found a novel way of disposing of counterfeit clothing that they’ve seized in raids on shops and fake auctions. Warehouses full of knock-off T-shirts, belts and trainers are being stripped of their fake logos by a local charity and then given to the homeless.

A spokesman for the trading standards organisation said, ‘Disposing of counterfeit goods, seized by trading standards officers during their normal day-to-day operations, has always been difficult … Many of the items seized are of good quality but frequently end up in landfill as brand owners were unwilling to let counterfeit goods be reused, even to benefit charities … The cost of sending these items to landfill in the past has been substantial and meant that was less money was available to spend on frontline trading standards work’

It’s a great step forward when the proceeds of criminal activity can be used to help less fortunate members of society, but that’s not the only way that excess or waste clothing can benefit good causes. Many charities from Emmaus through to the YMCA and charities helping rough sleepers like the Salvation Army are happy to receive bulk donations of clothing. Particularly popular are coveralls that can be worn when clearing areas used by homeless people,  waterproof jackets which are stockpiled and then handed out in bad weather and clothing that can be provided to refugees who often arrive without suitable winter sweatshirts or jumpers for the British climate.

Many businesses have wholesale clothing stocks left over at the end of a promotion or when uniform patterns change, and these can be donated to help needy people just contact the local council and large local charities to discuss what needs they have and how garments can be used.

There are any number of ways that people across the world can help fund the relief effort for earthquake ravaged Haiti. blink-182, the Californian punk band, have already released a Haiti Charity T-shirt – available through their band website, and said that all proceeds from each $15 T-shirt sale, will be donated to the Red Cross. The short-sleeved T-shirt carries an image of a rabbit bearing a Haitian flag.

Nearly as fast off the mark are George Clooney and MTV who will be holding a telethon on 22nd January to raise funds for Haiti. And Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have released a statement saying that they will be working with Wyclef Jean of the Fugees, who was born on Haiti, to support people there and urging the public to make donations.

In the longer term, Haiti’s industry appears to be hard hit too – many American and Canadian clothing manufacturers have been using the country to sew garments – so far, Hanes has said that three of the four factories it uses appear to have earthquake damage and Gildan, which uses third-party factories in Haiti to sew many of the T-shirts produced at its textile factory in the Dominican Republic, says that it seems two of the three factories it uses were still standing, but the third had suffered badly.